Clawson budget shows property value rebound

Clawson’s new budget calls for no millage increases and officials say it looks as though the city is moving past the budget cuts of the recent recession.

The City Council on Tuesday passed a $6.9 million general fund budget. Residents are expected to see small reductions in water-sewer rates and the overall millage rate, chiefly because of lowered bond payments.

“Things seem to be looking up,” said City Manager Mark Pollack. “Hopefully the dark days are behind us.”

Clawson, like most cities nationwide, saw a significant decline in property tax revenues during the recent recession as home values dropped dramatically.

The total value of taxable property in Clawson dropped from $408 million in 2008 to $308 million last year.

This year, however, taxable values increased a modest 0.85 percent overall while home values rose slightly by 0.2 percent. Property values had been forecast to decline again this year by about 2 percent, Pollack said.

“We would have been happy to break even this year, so we were happy to see an actual increase,” he said.

Last year residents approved a general fund millage renewal that increased the millage rate by 2.3 mills. The city would have had to cut police and other city services without the increase, officials said.

The millage hike increased city tax revenues by about $700,000 annually. Without the millage city officials said they would likely have to lay off more than a dozen employees.

During the recent recession, Clawson cut wages for city employees by about 10 percent and avoided layoffs through attrition, losing about six city employees.

The city -- like neighboring communities such as Ferndale, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Hazel Park and Royal Oak – also cut City Hall hours to save money. Clawson now has 45 fulltime employees, down from 60 workers in 2000, Pollack said.

“I think we are starting to see the light a little bit,” Pollack said of the city’s property values.